分类： sports

In a significant shift within the Jamaica Premier League standings, Chapelton Maroons have catapulted into the coveted top four following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over bottom-placed Spanish Town Police FC this Sunday. The match’s solitary goal, netted by Damoi Whitfield in the 31st minute, proved decisive, marking the team’s fourth triumph in their last five fixtures.

This crucial win elevates Chapelton’s season tally to 25 points from 17 games, representing a remarkable ascent from their previous eighth-place position and effectively distancing them from relegation concerns. They now sit just above Mount Pleasant FA, though the latter retains a significant advantage with four fewer games played.

Meanwhile, at Jarrett Park, league leaders Montego Bay United maintained their top spot despite being held to a goalless draw by third-ranked Portmore United. This result extends Montego Bay’s lead to three points over second-place Racing United, who themselves staged a comeback to secure a 1-1 draw against Dunbeholden FC.

The match between Racing and Dunbeholden saw early drama with Odane Samuels putting Dunbeholden ahead within just five minutes. However, Tajay Grant demonstrated his reliability by netting the equalizer in the 75th minute, preserving Racing’s impressive undefeated streak which now stretches across ten consecutive games. For Dunbeholden, this result marks another frustrating occasion where they surrendered a lead to settle for a single point.

Sunday’s complete results:
Spanish Town Police FC 0, Chapelton Maroons 1
Montego Bay United 0, Portmore United 0
Racing United 1, Dunbeholden FC 1

In a tightly contested international friendly at Kirani James Stadium, Jamaica’s national football team secured a 1-0 victory against Grenada through Nickalia Fuller’s decisive 75th-minute strike. The match served as crucial preparation for the Reggae Boyz’s upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff against New Caledonia scheduled for March.

Interim head coach Rudolph Speid enjoyed a successful debut on the sidelines as Fuller, representing Tivoli Gardens FC, scored his inaugural international goal for Jamaica. The victory extends Jamaica’s dominant record against Grenada, marking their tenth win in thirteen encounters between the Caribbean nations.

Coach Speid expressed satisfaction with his team’s implementation of training strategies, noting: ‘Our primary objective was to assess whether players would execute our training concepts in match conditions. Generally, we achieved this through effective ball movement and composed possession play.’

The technical staff plans comprehensive video analysis to evaluate tactical execution, with Speid emphasizing the challenge of observing all details during live gameplay. The match also featured international debuts for four players: Nickyle Ellis (Racing United), Tafari Chambers (Mount Pleasant), Dwight Merrick (Dunbeholden FC), and Nico Brown (Lexington SC).

Speid utilized 21 players total, including 16 from Jamaica’s Premier League, ensuring widespread participation. Additional preparatory matches are anticipated as Jamaica finalizes its squad selection for the critical World Cup qualifiers on March 26th and 31st.

Despite Jamaica’s FIFA ranking of 70th compared to Grenada’s 164th, Speid acknowledged Grenada’s competitive performance under coach Anthony Modeste, former Portmore United standout and JPL champion. Speid noted the psychological dimension of regional competition, stating: ‘Our Caribbean dominance has been challenged recently, making this hard-fought victory particularly valuable for our qualifying campaign.’

In a display of remarkable marksmanship, Geoffrey Ziadie and Aliana McMaster emerged victorious at the Jackson Bay Sporting Clay Tournament, securing the Highest Overall and Ladies titles respectively. The event, which marked the inaugural competition on the Jamaica Skeet Club’s annual calendar, drew over 100 participants to the Portland Cottage facility in Clarendon last Sunday.

The path to victory proved exceptionally challenging as Ziadie, McMaster, and Peter Mahfood found themselves deadlocked in a three-way tie after each registering impressive scores of 92 out of 100 targets during the main round. This extraordinary parity necessitated a tense shoot-off to determine the ultimate champion. Mahfood secured the runner-up position by hitting four of eight targets, followed closely by McMaster with three successful hits. Ziadie ultimately claimed the top honors by demonstrating exceptional precision with six successful hits.

Reflecting on his victory, the 57-year-old Ziadie attributed his success to mental preparation rather than extensive physical practice. ‘I’ve been doing some mental training and visualization with my coach, Kaleel Azan, and it just worked out great,’ Ziadie explained. ‘Not much practice, but understanding what targets are doing and mentally focusing to shoot, and today was my day.’

McMaster achieved an exceptional triple victory, successfully defending her titles in Ladies, Juniors, and A Class categories. ‘I’m so grateful for all of the titles that I’ve been able to defend and maintain,’ McMaster stated. ‘I’m very grateful for just the opportunity to come out here and compete and then just being able to come out on top.’

The tournament witnessed additional dramatic shoot-offs in other classifications. Rory Wilson secured the B Class championship by breaking five of eight targets against Brian Kong after both competitors finished with 87 points. Similarly, Denzil Dixon claimed the D Class title with four successful hits against Rheis McMaster following an initial tie at 83 points.

Jamaica Skeet Club President Sean Clacken expressed immense satisfaction with the event’s success and emphasized the organization’s commitment to community engagement. ‘We’re extremely happy. Couldn’t ask for anything better,’ Clacken remarked. ‘Every year we try to raise funds towards the Portland Cottage Primary School. We live in a community and operate in a community and we must be part of the community.’

The tournament results showcased exceptional performances across multiple categories, with notable achievements in A Class (Aliana McMaster 92), B Class (Rory Wilson 87), C Class (Max Williams 86), D Class (Denzil Dixon 83), and E Class (Stephen Silvera 79). The event also recognized outstanding performances in Hunters/Beginners, Ladies, Juniors, and Sub-Juniors categories, demonstrating the depth of talent within Jamaica’s shooting sports community.

Jamaican track and field athlete Alliyah McNeil achieved a historic milestone at the Arkansas Invitational on Friday, setting a new University of North Texas high jump record with an impressive clearance of 1.80 meters. The competition, held at the Tyson Indoor Facilities, saw McNeil surpass the previous record of 1.79 meters established by Shahaf Bareni back in 2013.

McNeil, who has previously competed for both Iowa Western and the University of Minnesota, demonstrated her exceptional versatility by also securing second place in the long jump event with a mark of 6.22 meters.

The weekend witnessed several other outstanding performances from Caribbean athletes across various collegiate meets. At the University of Tennessee, former Holmwood Technical ISSA girls’ athletics champion Cedricka Williams achieved a personal best of 19.39 meters in the women’s weight throw, ranking seventh all-time in the university’s history and claiming victory in her event.

Meanwhile, at the HBCU Showcase in New York’s Armory, Hampton University athletes delivered strong performances. Rochele Solmon captured the women’s shot put title with a season’s best throw of 15.05 meters, while her teammate Damali Williams secured second place in the weight throw with a personal best of 16.92 meters.

At the Corky Classic hosted by Texas Tech, Brandon Lloyd of Arizona State earned second place in the men’s shot put with a throw of 18.85 meters. University of Texas athlete Shaiquan Dunn finished sixth in the same event with a mark of 17.78 meters.

Adding to the weekend’s achievements, Malaika Cunningham of Villanova University won the women’s high jump at the Quaker Invitational held at the University of Pennsylvania, clearing 1.73 meters.

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Open commenced under scorching conditions, witnessing commanding performances from top seeds while concluding the historic campaign of tennis legend Venus Williams. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz launched his quest for a career Grand Slam with a decisive 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 victory over Australian wildcard Adam Walton. Despite a challenging second set, the Spaniard expressed satisfaction with his opening-round form as he aims to dethrone reigning champion Jannik Sinner.

Reigning women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka navigated a tricky encounter against French left-hander Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, overcoming initial unforced errors to secure a 6-4, 6-1 win. The Belarusian acknowledged added pressure with tennis icons Roger Federer and Rod Laver observing from courtside.

The tournament’s intense heat approached 30°C (86°F), contributing to dramatic scenes including a ball girl collapsing during Zeynep Sonmez’s match against Ekaterina Alexandrova. Attendance reached a record 100,000 despite complaints about lengthy queues in the oppressive conditions.

Alexander Zverev demonstrated resilience after dropping the first set to Canada’s Gabriel Diallo, rallying to a 6-7 (1/7), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory. The German third seed admitted needing to reset after his early struggles.

The day’s most emotional moment came as 45-year-old Venus Williams, the oldest woman to compete in Australian Open history, fell to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic in a grueling 2-hour, 17-minute battle. Despite flashes of her legendary prowess, Williams succumbed 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 to an opponent more than two decades her junior.

Other notable results saw British qualifier Arthur Fery upset 20th seed Flavio Cobolli, while seeded Ukrainians Dayana Yastremska and Marta Kostyuk suffered early exits. The tournament continues with Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek headlining Monday’s action.

Jamaica’s All Schools squad has secured a place in the championship match of the Caribbean Americas Soccer Association (CASA) Youth Classic after delivering two dominant performances in the preliminary rounds. The team will compete against Rush in the tournament finale this Sunday at 5:00 PM, hosted at South Florida’s Lauderhill Sports Complex.

The Jamaican team demonstrated remarkable offensive prowess during their opening matches, first defeating Cobras with a decisive 4-0 victory on Friday, followed by a 2-0 triumph over ESP on Saturday. The team’s success was largely propelled by the exceptional performance of striker Kadean Young, who emerged as the tournament’s standout player.

During Friday’s contest, Young opened the scoring in the eighth minute before adding an insurance goal in the 76th minute. His efforts were complemented by teammates Kimarly Scott, who found the net in the 50th minute, and Kaieem Lewis, who scored in the 62nd minute.

The following day, Young continued his scoring dominance by netting both goals in Jamaica’s victory over ESP. His fourth-minute strike established an early advantage, which he reinforced with another goal in the 33rd minute, securing the team’s undefeated path to the championship match.

The upcoming final represents a significant opportunity for Jamaica’s youth soccer program to claim regional supremacy against Rush, setting the stage for an intense competition between two talented squads.

In a ceremony celebrating Jamaica’s athletic excellence, world champion sprinters Oblique Seville and Tina Clayton were honored as the 2025 National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year at the 65th RJRGleaner Sports Foundation National Awards on Saturday evening.

Oblique Seville, 24, captured his first Sportsman of the Year title following his extraordinary performance at the 2025 World Championships where he claimed the 100m gold medal with a blistering personal best of 9.77 seconds. This victory marked Jamaica’s return to the pinnacle of men’s global sprinting for the first time since Usain Bolt’s sprint double triumph at the 2016 Olympic Games. Seville prevailed over Anthony Johnson, who achieved a historic milestone by winning Jamaica’s first-ever gold medal at the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) Handgun World Championship in the Production Optics – Grand Senior category with a perfect shooting score.

Tina Clayton, 21, secured her inaugural Sportswoman of the Year award after earning silver in the World Championship 100m final with an impressive personal best of 10.76 seconds. The accomplished junior champion, who previously won two World Under-20 100m titles, has successfully transitioned to elite senior competition, demonstrating her readiness to continue Jamaica’s legacy in women’s sprinting following legends Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shericka Jackson. Notably, Clayton’s strongest competition may come from her twin sister Tia, with the pair being dubbed “Twin Turbo” by Fraser-Pryce.

Additional honors were presented to Sara Misir, who claimed bronze in Powerboating at the 2025 E1 Series Championship for Team Blue Rising and was named runner-up for Sportswoman of the Year. Misir also received the inaugural Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award, a newly established category.

The ceremony also paid tribute to late athlete Alvin Campbell with the Chairman’s Award, while cricketer Christopher Gayle received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his record-breaking career. Horseracing Derby champion I Dream Again was voted The People’s Choice Performance of the Year.